In July and August 2009, activists in Washington, DC placed hundreds of crosses with the text “Close the SOA” and “End the Coup” written on them throughout the city.

found on Connecticut Ave NW, near the intersection with Q st. NW in Dupont Circle (photo by michaelramallah).

found on Connecticut Ave NW, near the intersection with Q st. NW in Dupont Circle (photo by michaelramallah).

found in Lanier Heights, Washington, DC (photo by Poldavo/Alex)

found in Lanier Heights, Washington, DC (photo by Poldavo/Alex)

Commentary on the Honduran coup of late June 2009. the installation is two wooden crosses, a style popularized in the movement to close the SOA (School of the Americans/Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation).

Organize creative actions in your community to raise awareness about the School of the Americas and the coup in Honduras.

As this issue of Presente went to print, our hearts were heavy. The assassination of our dear friend and comrade Berta Cáceres, and the increased repression against social movement groups, have left us shocked and saddened. SOA Watch Latin America liaison Brigitte Gynther traveled to Honduras the morning after she learned about the assassination and has been coordinating SOA Watch’s response together with our partner groups on the ground. If you do not already receive Urgent Action emails from us, please click here to sign up now.

The recent decision by the U.S. judge in North Carolina to extradite one of the perpetrators of the 1989 massacre at the University of San Salvador gives us hope that justice will prevail in the end. It will take all of us to create change! Please join us as we mobilize to the U.S./Mexico border from October 7-10, 2016!

Other articles in this issue cover a protest by SOA Watch in Chile against US bases in Latin America, the FBI surveillance of SOA Watch, updates from Colombia and Mexico, news about the first Border Patrol agent to receive training at WHINSEC, background information about Direct Action, the Youth Encuentro in Guatemala, and more. Download this issue of Presente here.

SOA Watch participated in the International Human Rights Encuentro in Honduras in February 2012. Laura Jung spoke with Father Fausto Milla, a religious leader in the Honduran movement who has been persecuted by the State of Honduras.

Moving the 2016 November Vigil to the Border?
The 2015 Vigil is still going to take place at the gates of Fort Benning, Georgia, but there are discussions within the SOA Watch movement to move the 2016 vigil to the militarized U.S./Mexico border. What do you think?